Case of the ???? Astronomer
This
is a sequel to the previous case, that of the Misplaced Teapot, in which I
reported the challenge, in Sky & Telescope magazine, to my assertion
that the depiction on a 4,500 year-old Mesopotamian cylinder seal (Berlin Museum
VA./243) shows our solar system
with the sun in the center and ALL the planets we know of today, plus one more
-- NIBIRU, the home planet of the Anunnaki.
What the magazine�s article (by Dr. E. C. Krupp) and
artwork (see Misplaced Teapot
on this website) argued in essence was that this central piece of evidence by me
in my book The Twelfth Planet (1976) is no evidence at all, because this
depiction shows the planet Jupiter (known to the ancients) passing within the
central portion (the �teapot�) of the constellation Sagittarius (also known
in antiquity). Hence:
No extraordinary knowledge, No extraterrestrial teachers, No Anunnaki, No
12th planet...
But Jupiter, orbiting the Sun almost precisely in the
ecliptic, NEVER moves 11-12 degrees south to appear in the Teapot!
Hence, No alternative interpretation, and No toppling of this piece of
evidence (one of hundreds of textual and pictorial ancient data in support of
the Sumerian extraordinary knowledge and the Nibiru/Anunnaki explanation).
After several fruitless letters and faxes to Sky
& Telescope seeking a correction and an admission of their error, I
received a two page letter from Dr. E.C. Krupp, signed by him with his title
Director on official stationery of the Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, dated
4 August 2000. It explains
that my letter to the magazine was forwarded to him, but his response was
delayed due to absence in Iran.
And what does the distinguished astronomer say? I
quote:
�It
is a delight to hear from you. I
have all of your books, have read most of them, and have listened to you on
the radio a couple of times. I
have of course dedicated thought to the arguments you have developed.
Although your handling of the data has inspired my skepticism, please
let me acknowledge the courtesy and logic of your complaint about the way I
evaluated your Twelfth Planet notions in my monthly column on astronomy and
culture in Sky & Telescope.�
Well, well � but what about the impossibility of his assertion of Jupiter
being in the Teapot of Sagittarius? Finally,
the �operative� paragraph:
�You
are correct to point out that I was hasty in offering Sagittarius as an option
for the imagery on the Akkadian cylinder seal VA/243.
Certainly we cannot regard the figure as an accurate map of the Teapot
with Jupiter brewing inside.�
So, was the distinguished astronomer �hasty� and not actually plain wrong?
The letter continues:
�If
you�ll allow me Saturn, we get a little closer, but you are right � no tea
caddied planet. My caption
highlights Jupiter, positions it within Sagittarius, and suggests a real
mapping. Your objection is
sustained� (emphasis added).
Does, then, an apology follow? Not
at all, because the letter continues:
�Of
course, there are other candidates among the stars. A planet could have been
in the vicinity of Leo, for example, enclosed by Regulus, gamma Leonis, zeta
Leonis, epsilon Leonis, alpha Cancri, 38 Cancri, delta Cancri, zeta Hydrae,
epsilon Hydrae, and iota Hydra. Given
the lack of precision on the cylinder seal, that set of stars works pretty
well. If they be unacceptable,
however, we can alternatively imagine a planet in a larger enclosure�...
After jumping from Jupiter to Saturn, and from Sagittarius to Leo to Regulus to
Cancer, the letter to me offers still other stars in various constellations as
alternatives... But
what about the obvious alternative, that the depiction indeed represents
our solar system? That, in spite of
all, is not an alternative for Dr. Krupp.
In my respectful response to Dr. Krupp, I wrote:
�It
truly chagrins me that someone like you, in searching for explanations for the
seal�s depictions (you list some of the most improbable ones in your
letter), would not even consider our solar system as a possibility.
This can only stem from an absolute refusal to accept the
Extraterrestrial nature of the Anunnaki.
But why would someone � I am sure you are included � who would deem
it possible that Man from Earth would one day travel to another planet, deem
it totally unacceptable that someone from another planet might have come here?
If not scientific but religious objections lie therein, please read my
dialogue with a Vatican theologian on my website SITCHIN.com. (Dialogue
in Bellaria)
And I signed my letter: �Looking forward to a
dialogue with you.�
As of this date (September 26th), there has been no response from the magazine
to my request for a correction, the publication of my letter to them in the
Letters to the Editor column, or for the acceptance of an article from me: and
no further communication from Dr. E.C. Krupp � whom I have quoted with respect
in my book The Lost Realms � and whose attitude I could not define in
the heading of this article: Should
the missing word in the title be �Wrong�, �Embarrassed�,
�Reluctant�, or (in his own words) just "Hasty�?
Zecharia
Sitchin
September 2000
�
Z. Sitchin 2002
Reprinted with permission
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